Franklin District Council has joined in preparations for next year’s Festival of the Environment in March.

Five districts are now involved in the 10-day environmental event designed to “switch people on” to the Region’s environment, including Hamilton City, and Waipa, South Waikato and Taupo.

Environment Waikato Events Organiser Kim MacRae Jonson said the festival would give people in the Waikato a chance to physically explore the Region, challenge them to think about environmental issues and help them to discover what they could do to improve the Region’s environment.

“The vision is to create an environmental event for the whole Region, so we are delighted that Franklin District Council will participate in the 2004 Festival.”

The programme includes a diverse range of activities from March 12 - 21, providing an excellent opportunity for community groups to showcase their projects, she said.

Franklin District's Mayor Heather Maloney said Franklin was proud to be part of the Festival.

"The Festival of the Environment is a fantastic initiative and by participating we will be completing some very worth while projects and celebrating both the environment and the on-going hard work of our volunteers."

If you live in the Franklin area and would like to showcase your environmental project during the Festival please contact Andrew Moor or Nigel Birse at Franklin District Council.

Environment Waikato is compiling registrations, and a Festival Directory will be produced along with a web site. About 7000 people participated in more than 60 activities during this year’s event.